By Sacha Mozenter

Ms. Scrignoli’s room, once Mr. Peters room for returning students, is sparsely decorated to a minimalist aesthetic. The chairs and tables are often packed with students in one of the 5 hours of personal finance and government she teaches. Her classroom feels welcoming and she says she intends to decorate it more with student work once her classes get to projects. Ms. Scrignoli is not only new to Harbor City, she’s new to teaching. This is her first year with her own classroom and her own class. I spoke to her on Monday during second CP. Her class at the time had 5 or 6 sophomore students working. One student was engaged in a conversation with her when I walked in. 

Ms. Scrignoli has enjoyed her time at Harbor City so far, saying she feels very accepted and welcome here. 

“All the staff are really nice” she says,”And even my full classes aren’t too much to handle.”. A theme I have seen in interviewing new teachers is the surprise at how welcoming and supportive the community is here at Harbor City.

While being overwhelmed with hordes of students, she handles the masses with a grace and power that must come from her background in dance. Ms. Scrignoli went to college with the hopes to be a professional dancer, but began to fall in love with teaching. She fell in love with teaching by teaching dance on the side in college. From there she fell in love with teaching and how she had the ability to change someone's life just by teaching them something.

After making this realization she decided to change majors to get her teaching credentials and pursue her dance career on the side. 

“I’d still like to be a professional dancer some day” she said, “But right now I’m happy as a teacher”. 

Ms. Scrignoli uses a combination of lectures and personal research projects in her class. I have enjoyed taking her class. She also tries to make the class accessible by giving numerous work periods in order to finish both her work as well as other teachers. As a stressed upperclassmen, I appreciate her concern for her students' time and respect for extracurriculars.

Despite student teaching at Hermantown high school, she chose Harbor City as where she wanted to work for the small class sizes and the general smallness of the school. She says that Harbor City was very different from the other schools she had looked at because of the size. She wanted a smaller and more tight knit community and she says she found it. 

When she’s not teaching dance classes or planning lessons, she enjoys dancing on her own and reading. 

“Dance is basically all I do,”  she said when asked about what she does after school. “It’s something I really enjoy.” She’s been dancing since she was young and continued studying it through college where she was originally pursuing dance.

Surprisingly, Ms. Scrignolis favorite subject in school was math. She said it was always easy and really fun to try and figure out the equations. When asked if she would want to teach math she said “probably not, I haven't taken any math classes since highschool.” In agreement with the majority, which this author disagrees with, she said that math was always blue without any hesitation. She also said that social studies was red.

Ms. Scrignoli said that her advice for underclassmen was the same as what she would say to herself when she was around that age.

“Don’t worry about what other people think, just be yourself. You won’t regret it.”

Your Dear Author collected questions from other students, what they would like to know and what they would like to be asked if they were being interviewed. 

-How long have you been doing art?

Since he was five he has taken art as a more serious hobby, and has explored and experimented with all sorts of media while exploring and developing his style. Although, there are still small artworks from before he was five. 

-Why do you do what you do?

In the beginning of time, art.. And Daniel.. Art done by Daniel- but besides the cool art, the guy first started out doing art in lieu of seeing his siblings do art. He looked up to them and wanted to be good like them at art. But now he simply likes having a method of expressing his mind in a visual way. 

-When do you do work best?

In the middle of the unbearable nothingness so vast and extensive his brain struggles to find an outlet.. Along comes art! He works best when he's not overthinking, when he's just doing creativity unearthed and unplanned. There’s always something in the absence of everything, especially creativity in the absence of rigid planning. 

-Favorite medium, or thing to draw?

Digital art is his favorite medium but he thinks that he’s more skilled with traditional art. His favorite things to draw are his own characters, especially on digital platforms, and he loves practicing fluid posing and animation. 

-What's your favorite piece you've done and why?

He said that he likes a lot of his art pieces and doesn’t have a favorite due to having favorite aspects 

in the pieces and liking the differences as well. He's also proud of a lot of his fairly recent ones, which surround his main antagonist's redesign. 

-Advice for beginning artists? 

“Don’t give up. If this is something you think you wanna do then you have to put in the work. Skill is not something ANYONE is born with. So practice and remember everyone starts somewhere.” (Daniel Ball, 2023) 

- Favorite face technique?

“So scribbly that you can hardly tell what’s going on until you finally erase some of those lines.” (Daniel Ball, 2023)  

by Val 

~Halloween Dance~

October Friday the 27th - hosted by GSA

• What: Satanic ritual including the freshmen, being sacrificed by the seniors.. Dress up! But, between dancing and slaying there's a dance competition and costume contest, with the possibility of a Halloween Dance Concession ticket.

• When: Friday Oct. 27t. 10/27/2023. 7-10PM. 

• Where: 4th Floor Cafe, Take the Elevator- don’t worry, we won't roast you on a spit for doing so. 

• Cost: Come with cash for tickets(one per person) 5$, FIVE DOLLARS PER TICKET. Concessions are available for a price(your soul. JK. Totally not JK) the proceeds are going to GSA events in the future.

• Who: You (and a guest with a guest form), Guest forms are found in the office and must be turned in on Tuesday the 24th, 10/24/2023.

Warnings:  Loud music, lots of people, wear a face mask if you’re worried about getting sick - take care of yourself. 

Ever wondered what it’s like to be in drama club or what goes into putting on a play? Well today we will be taking a look behind the scenes of our drama club and meeting the people that make scripts come to life. Our drama club is currently putting on a production Of  A Midsummer's Night Dream, a play written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500’s. The show is a comedic fantasy set In Athens that tells the story of the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta and the side plots surrounding it. I talked to Ms. Ninneman, the director of the theater club, and asked her some questions about what it’s like to be in theater!

 I first talked to her about what she would say to people considering joining drama and she wants people to know “Everyone is welcome to participate! We can only fit so many students into each play, but we bring in professional designers that love to work with students on the behind the scenes aspects of the productions, too. And I'm trying to find ways to fit in extra acting opportunities, so stay tuned.” Drama club definitely sounds like a great opportunity! 

 I then wanted to know what it was like to put on the play and she told me that “The process of producing a show is equal parts stress, doubt, and incredible fulfillment. You go through periods where you think you're doing a horrible job and that you're disappointing everyone, but then you'll also have beautiful breakthroughs where everything just "works" and you can see the students grow artistically. I love it.” It seems like a lot more work goes into producing a show then you might think, but it still sounds very fun!

Another thing I thought would be interesting to know is what her favorite part of directing a play was and she said “My favorite part of directing a play is opening night. I love watching the students get to experience an audience, sometimes for the first time. Then getting to meet their friends and family in the lobby after, when they're so proud - it's thrilling.” Opening night sounds like a very great thing to experience when you’re apart of a show. 

The next question I thought to ask was how you should behave/what etiquette you should have when attending a show because I think that important to know and her advice was “The best etiquette tip I can share for watching a play is to remember that we can all hear you. The actors can hear you, the other audience members can hear you. Even if you think you're whispering really softly, we can all hear you. It's super distracting. The people onstage have a lot to think about already without having to block out extra noise! The people in the audience bought a ticket to listen to the actors, not you. But if you think something is funny, laugh! If you really enjoyed something, clap! Enjoy yourself, just remember you're watching live theater not tv.” Make sure to practice this advice if you attend a show.

 Finally I wanted to know what her favorite show the drama club has done is and she said “My favorite show is always the one I'm working on at the time. Each show has had something really special. I can't believe how lucky I am to get to work with this incredible group of students.” I thought this answer was great. Ms. Ninneman cares a lot about her work and students and really does make every show special!

I thought everything Ms. Ninneman said was very insightful into what it’s like to be a part of a play and other information surrounding the drama club. Consider being a part of the drama club at some point in your highschool career. It sounds like a great opportunity, and make sure to see A Midsummer’s Night Dream! 

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated every year on the second Monday of October to honor Indigenous Peoples throughout the United States, acknowledge the genocide they experienced, and help propel advocacy for addressing discrimination and injustices they face today. 

This October 9th the city of Duluth celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day with an event hosted on the Duluth City Council steps. According to the City of Duluth Communications office, the event was held “In honor and recognition of the sovereignty, rich history, culture, traditional and contemporary knowledge, art, music, and the countless contributions and service both past and present Indigenous Peoples make to the world.” The celebration began at 11am and featured different community leaders including state representative Alicia Kozlowski, who was the first two spirit individual elected to the Minnesota legislature (Minnesota Public Radio). Other prominent individuals at the event included Mayor Emily Larson, Harbor City youth leaders, and members from the Duluth Indigenous Commision. The celebration included speeches from the community leaders, as well as singers and drums, red dress and orange shirt art/signs, and a community round dance. 

These events addressed the genocide that Indegenous communities have endured, spoke of the resilience of Indegenous peoples, the progress that has been made in gaining equal rights and opportunities for Indegenous people, and how much work still has to come. Community leaders and art displays brought attention to different issues like MMIWG2S, the history of Indigenous forced residential schools, and forced assimilation. The Duluth Indigenous Commission, who helped organize this event, works to support Indigenous Peoples in our community. The City of Duluth describes the Commission as such:

“The Indigenous Commission (previously known as the American Indian Commission) works to ensure that the views of the Indigenous Community are incorporated in the decision-making, future planning, and stewardship of the city of Duluth; it endeavors to act as a guide in the development of public policy, planning and services so that the Indigenous Community is adequately represented in these processes and also works to increase understanding and acceptance of the Indigenous Community and culture.” (City of Duluth)

To learn more about the Duluth Indigenous commission, go to https://duluthmn.gov/boards-commissions/, or find them on facebook as ‘Duluth Indigenous Commission’.  

By Marlow Iwen

Seeing as it is spooky season I thought that I would make a list of the five most haunted places in Duluth. So to start off at number five we have the Duluth Public Library. Staff have reported books falling off of selves, paper lying in the floor after cleaning that particular room, and seeing apparitions of a man, and woman. 

     Next up at number four is Enger Tower. People have reported seeing a man on the top floor of Enger Tower who is not there when they reach top at night. 

      Then in the top three at number three is the Depot. Visitors have reported hazy silhouettes, disappearing orbs, and repeated sightings of a little girl dressed in white. 

      Moving closer to number one is the William A. Irvin at number two. As you all likely know, William A. Irvin turns into the Haunted Ship in October, but it also has its own set of paranormal activity. Some people believe that the spirits of the sailors never left, especially the spirit of William Wuori, the only sailor to die on the ship. People report objects being thrown, footsteps and voices when on one is around, and unexpected shadows. 

       Now at number one, as I guess many of you guessed, the number one most haunted place in Duluth, MN in Glensheen Mansion. There have been sightings of Elizabeth Congdon in the library, and it is reported to be her favorite place, and there are also reports of disembodied screams coming from the house at night. Seeing as there have been two murders in this building this is no surprise.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

You will die in your lover’s arms, sword protruding from your intestines, tears mixing with your blood as the sounds of the battlefield slowly fade from your ears. Be a sexy pumpkin for Halloween. 

Taurus (April 20-May 20)      

A God thought to be gone will smite you on your 19th birthday for your insolence and how you like pineapple on pizza. To prevent this fate, you must go as punk rock Barney the Dinosaur for Halloween.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Gemini, I love the Halloween enthusiasm, but if you try to reenact the Scream movie, you will be killed in self defense. You can still be Ghostface, just be chill about it. No, put the mask back down. Gemini. GEMINI.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Imagine being born in June or July. Nerds! I’m sure no writers of these horoscopes were born in those months, we’re too cool for that. Your death won’t even be cool. Try being cool for Halloween, dork.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Leo, your demise will be by my hand. Sleep with one eye open. No one cares what you’ll be for Halloween.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Virgo, please don’t drink bleach. I get the bottles look nice, and it smells absolutely delicious, but your insides won’t agree. If you die this way, you will be relentlessly bullied in hell. Be Mr. Clean for Halloween.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Look, Libra. You can’t text Pedro Pascal thirst traps to your grandma while driving, you will get into a crash and die. It’ll be super cringe when the police checks your phone and sees your search history. Be the Mandolorian for Halloween. Your grandma can be Grogu.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Your brutal murder will be an unsolved case. Do not worry, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej will talk about it for an episode. It will be popular. You need no costume, you’re already a demon. 

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Get this Sagittarius, you’ll be burned alive! The Townspeople will collectively decide you’re a witch, and burn you at the stake, roasting marshmallows on your body and chanting cult-like Latin derived prayers. Be a witch for Halloween.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Capricorn, can you please calm down with all of the “sacrificing my bones to the cheese demons”? I get that you’re passionate, but I do truly need my spinal cord. That demon is going to kill you someday. Be a skeleton for Halloween, get your bones on.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

Aquarius, you will drown. Bet you wish you were a water sign. Why aren’t you a water sign? Aqua is in your name. Do better. Be Ariel for Halloween. Seashell bra included. 

Pisces (February 19 - March 20) 

Pisces, you will never die. You are immortal and no one can prove this wrong. How dare anyone ask you if you’re a petty mortal. You are a God and you know it. Be God for Halloween.

Cats or Dogs? 

By Violet Bowman

Have you ever wondered what the better animal is between cats or dogs? I think we all know the better species. Obviously cats! I mean sure dogs are energetic and “loyal” animals but cats don't constantly annoy you to have a piece of your food or need to be taken to get a haircut every couple of months. But let's see what other people think! 

I have conducted a list of responses for this month's survey to see which animal got picked as the most popular vote for a very controversial question. Which animal is better: cats or dogs? 

The majority of people voted for cats! (60%)

While 40% of people chose dogs!

Halloween dates back 2,000 years ago, and was first celebrated on October 31 as a Celtic tradition called Samhain (pronounced sow-win). Samhain noted the end of summer and the harvest season, and marked the beginning of winter (which that time of year has long been associated with death) and a new year which began November first. On Samhian ghosts of the dead are said to return to Earth. It was said that the spirits could damage crops or cause trouble, but that they also made it easier to predict the future. Huge bonfires were created, and people would wear costumes usually made of animal skins. After it was over they would relight the fires in their hearths, which they had put out earlier, in order to protect from the winter which would soon be coming. Samhain is still celebrated today, although aspects of it have changed as every old holiday does. It has also evolved over time and helped create Halloween. 

When the Roman Empire had taken over most Celtic territory by A.D. 43, two Roman festivals were combined with Samhain. One of the Roman festivals was called Feralia, which was celebrated in late October in order to celebrate the passing of the dead. The second was called Pomona, after the Roman goddess of trees and fruit, and was symbolized as an apple. When the symbol of the apple was combined into Samhain it was likely the origin of bobbing for apples. On May 13 of A.D. 609, Pope Boniface IV had dedicated the Pantheon to honor Christian martyrs, and All Martyrs day was created. Eventually it moved to November first to include all martyrs and saints and was renamed All Saints’ Day, and could also be called All-hallowmas or All-hallows. All Souls’ Day was created on November second as Christianity’s influence spread throughout Celtic populations, which was created to honor the dead, likely in order to replace Celtic traditions with a holiday associated with the Christian church. All Souls’ day was celebrated similarly to how Samhain was. They still had large bonfires, and dressed up in costumes, this time as angels and devils. The original night of Samhain gained the name All-Hallows Eve, and eventually changed to Halloween. All Saints and All souls day are also still celebrated today. 

When it came to colonial New England, Halloween celebrations were very limited due to strict Protestant beliefs. Halloween was more accepted in Maryland and in southern colonies of the time. Halloween became more and more common, and was widely popularized in America as immigrants came from Irlend in order to leave the Irish Potato Famine. As time went on, the traditions merged with a variety of different cultures forming Halloween as we know it today. 

 During the late 1800’s Halloween in America began to shift more towards community get-togethers, and tried to pull away from ghosts and things like that. Halloween parties became common, and newspapers urged parents to take anything that could be grotesque or frightening out of the celebrations. Many of the religious and superstitions aspects began to disappear from Halloween, and make it much more like it is celebrated today. Trick-or-Treating stemmed from European Traditions, and people in America started going from house to house dressed in costumes, and would ask for food, and apparently sometimes money. Vandalism apparently also became quite bad in America around Halloween in the 1920’s and 1930’s, although the brunt of it was halted in the 1950’s. Trick-or-Treating was also seen as a way to stop “tricks” from happening in theory, by giving treats to the neighborhood kids. 

There have been many influences on Halloween that have shaped it to be what it is today. It has also turned into a very large commercial holiday in America, as many holidays have. Now one quarter of the candy sold in the U.S. annually is brought for Halloween, and it is the second largest commercial holiday in America, right behind Christmas.

In celebration of the scary month of October, I conducted a survey. My idea was to ask around to get an idea of our school's favorite Halloween or autumn movie. I asked ten people. Even with the limited data, the results were pretty basic (no offense). I think it's fair to believe most students would agree a little. 

Our first-place winner was, unsurprisingly, Coraline. Was it a landslide winner? No, it came in first with 30% of the votes. Fun fact: only 2 out of the 15 movies on the survey got more than one vote. I guess it's to be expected with a low data pool. 

What’s this other movie? (I’m assuming you'd ask.) Well, it's quite unfair. The second-place winner is Scream. If you’re unfamiliar with this movie, calling it a movie is a mistake. Scream is a huge franchise with multiple films. It was my mistake to forget to ask the voters which one they were referring to. Pick your favorite, we can say it was the winner. That’s it. 

I wanted to add something more to make this more interesting. The idea I decided on was to create a short review of the most-voted movie. I get to review Coraline! 

I love this movie and grew up with it. It may lead me to be quite biased, and it can also be a bit hard to review movies in the horror genre. How frightening something is is objective, unfortunately. Whenever you mention how scared you were by a movie, someone has to butt in and comment, “It wasn’t that scary.” If you’re that person, please know you are the problem. It's fine to compare and contrast opinions, but half the time subjectivity is the discussion; people brag. This whole side conversation sounds weirdly personal, know that this is not directed at anyone and is simply my observation as an outsider. 

Sidetracking aside, I'll try to give a sufficient review. I’m going to make this as spoiler-free as possible, in case you haven’t watched Coraline yet. As soon as the movie starts, one of the first things you can notice is the drab atmosphere and dull color palette. This is entirely intentional, as the progression of the movie reveals an intensely bright color scheme. I absolutely love it when different mediums of art do this. It makes the whole experience enticing. It's hard to say this is even the best part of the film. 

The movie is stop-motion and made mostly from clay. I really can’t grasp the amount of dedication this takes. The entire process took four whole years. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the creators and imagine meticulously making each frame. I would've given up halfway through. What if the movie had sucked? What if something went wrong? Would it have still been worth it? Personally, I’d never be able to answer these because I will never attempt to make an hour-long stop-motion movie. Check back in a couple years, actually; I might. While this is all very impressive, it's not the only thing I like about this film, I promise. 

The plot itself holds so much value. We follow Coraline's move into a new town and her entanglements with the people around her. She ends up following some mice into a portal that leads to her “perfect life.” In true scary movie fashion, this obviously isn’t actually some magical portal to happiness. Again, no spoilers, so I think that's where I'll cut off the plot overview. Thinking about it, I don't think there's anything I genuinely dislike about this movie. It's definitely not perfect, and I feel left out in the crowd of people that would kill you if you didn't like it. I can understand why people don't like this movie, but there's nothing I dislike about it myself. Overall, watch the movie! It's good, and if you don't like it, don’t worry. I get you. Well, I don't, but I do. Whatever, you know what I mean.